Following a very disappointing 2008 season that saw the Detroit Tigers fall way short of expectations placed upon them, the team has rebounded quite nicely in 2009.
The Tigers currently sit atop the American League Central division, and appear to be playoff bound.
They've essentially led the division through the entire course of the 2009 baseball season.
Unfortunately for Detroit, the team has found itself slumping of late, losing many games they should have won, and suddenly, the Minnesota Twins are just 2 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the AL Central lead.
Can the Twins catch the Tigers? Conventional wisdom would say no.
Having just lost their star player (Justin Morneau) for the rest of the season, the Twins are swimming against the current here.
Derailing the Tigers without Morneau would be a tall order, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility.
To make things more interesting, the Tigers and Twins play one another during the last series of the season.
After finishing series against the Indians and White Sox, the Tigers will be forced to play a final three game series against the Twins.
The easiest way for the Tigers to stave off the Twins would be to enter the series ahead by more than three games.
With three games against Cleveland, the Tigers will look to exploit a series against a weaker foe, hoping that a few wins, combined with Twins losses, can clinch the division for Detroit.
The Twins can't be counted on to lose if history's any indicator, so the job rests in the hands of the Tigers from here.